The Walk-in health centre is currently on the ground floor of the Station Plaza Health Centre building

Keep our Walk-in Centre in the town centre

Our local NHS Services are under attack from the Conservative government. The Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) that provide healthcare in our area have been placed in ‘special financial measures’ – this means they have to find savings of at least £18m. HOT’s Erica Smith was shocked to find out what impact this might have on local services.

One of the proposed cuts to save this money is to close the Walk-In Healthcare Centre at Station Plaza. This centre is used by many of the most vulnerable people in our town especially, but also by many others who can’t get on a GP list, because of the GP shortage in Hastings.

The CCG is proposing to relocate the Walk-In Centre to the Conquest Hospital – but this is much harder to get to and will place unnecessary pressure on a busy A&E department.

Mike Turner, the East Sussex county councillor on the East Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee has opposed this proposal, which was put on hold over the summer, but is going to be considered again in September.

Peter Chowney, Leader of Hastings Council and Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Hastings & Rye, has written to the CCG opposing the closure. He says: “The Walk-In Centre was created as part of the new Station Plaza Health Complex, funded by the last Labour government. For many people, who for various reasons can’t get onto a GP list, this is their only source of primary health care. Many of them are the most vulnerable in our community.

“But the impact will be far wider than that. Foreign language students in Hastings, for example, use the Centre, as they can’t go to a GP. Its closure could damage local language schools, an important part of the local economy.

“Moving it to the Conquest Hospital isn’t a realistic option – it just means telling people to go to the hospital A&E department, which is already overstretched. The Conquest is also much harder to get to. I appreciate that like all public services, the local CCGs are facing big cuts because of government austerity policies. But this closure must not take place.”

Please sign my petition and support the fight to save our NHS from savage cuts and increasing privatisation of our public services.

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